


baby, breathe ok? come on, let’s count to ten.

by nunaseaweed



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Flashbacks, M/M, Time Skips, don't really know what other tags to put on so lemme know if u think of some, it took 4 months for me to write this hot mess, not in chronological order so suffer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:21:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29318568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nunaseaweed/pseuds/nunaseaweed
Summary: count to ten with significant moments and memories in keefe and tam's relationship.
Relationships: Keefe Sencen/Tam Song
Kudos: 9





	baby, breathe ok? come on, let’s count to ten.

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don’t own the characters or world-building, but the plot is very much out of my own big big brain.  
> Notes:  
> -set in the lost cities, but Sophie’s nothing special, just an elf. none of the battles and war stuff happened. they’re just chill teens. living. but I made them have more human-like clothes and activities and stuff because I said so. and they have cars and leapmasters now?? idk just go with it for my sake. and the lost cities aren’t homophobic so cheers! but like, Cassius is still a d!ck. I’m not gonna be t h a t nice lol.  
> -it isn’t in chronological order, so if you want you can read any number at any time. honestly each piece is kind of like a mini fic in itself.  
> -i started this back in november and then finished it in early february so you could say it was a bit of an effort.

"It’s gonna be alright, you hear me? Baby, breathe okay? Come on, let’s count to ten. Okay, Tammy? One...two...three...”

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How many weeks it took for them to finally hold hands.



one.

Maybe it was because his hands were always sweaty, or maybe it was because he wasn’t used to being touched by anyone but Linh, but even after they started dating, Tam never tried to hold Keefe’s hand. Or do anything with him, really. Physically, it seemed like he pulled away once they made it official.

So when they were walking down the streets of Atlantis with their friends, next to each other, and their hands bumped against one another one too many times for Keefe to ignore, he broke the barrier. 

First, it was just a soft touch, Keefe’s pinky sliding across the back of Tam’s hand, but the younger decided if they were gonna do this they were gonna commit to it, and quickly turned his hand to grab Keefe’s wrist securely as they walked on. 

Keefe blinked at him, eyes dragging from their hands to Tam’s face and back to their hands. Tam’s ears turned slightly red, but they kept walking and he kept looking forward as if nothing happened. Keefe grinned, quickly lacing their fingers together and staring straight ahead as Tam did, pretending not to notice when the silver-banged boy’s gaze darted his way. But he did notice his smile, and it warmed his heart.

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How many months it took for his dad to realize.



two.

As soon as Keefe heard the footsteps around the corner, he quickly flipped himself and Tam around so he was leaning against the wall and Tam stood a foot in front of him, flustered. He’d rather not let his father catch him kissing his boyfriend’s neck.

Tam quickly tugged up his collar when he realized Cassius was in the same hall, red spreading across his cheekbones and the tips of his ears. Keefe chuckled, “Just wear a scarf, Luv.”

“Easy for you to say,” Tam grumbled. “You don’t have a sister who notices every time you don’t brush your hair.”

“I have Biana and I think that’s bad enough,” Keefe countered.

“Fair.” Tam saw Cassius approaching out of the corner of his eye and decided to actually get home instead of letting Keefe distract him longer. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Keefe caught his lips with a soft kiss before he could leave. “Bye Luv.”

Once Tam leaped away, Keefe spun on his heel past a shocked looking Cassius to go back to his room. 

“Wait!” His dad called out.

Keefe turned toward him, “What?”

“You-you two are...?”

The blonde blinked at his dad, “It’s been two months. You seriously didn’t know?”

“No one ever informed me.”

“Everyone knew. If you actually listened to me you would’ve noticed.”

Cassius rolled his eyes, “Next time you do something important like dating a Song-”

“He’s not a Song,” Keefe snapped. “And if you cared you would have known that. So for the simplicity of things, just stop pretending you do.”

Keefe didn’t wait for a response before he walked away.

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How many times it took before he finally gave in.



three.

Maybe he would’ve said yes the first time Keefe showed up at his door without reason. It wasn’t like they didn’t hang out all the time, but it was still unexpected for Keefe to show up alone at Teirgan’s house so late asking for Tam. Teirgan let him in without a second thought, but Tam couldn’t help but linger on it.

Turned out his dad had yelled at him for some stupid detention again. Tam did the friend thing and comforted him, shoving the part of him that wanted to coo at his sleepy eyes deep,  _ deep _ , down. But that didn’t make it any less hard to concentrate as Keefe’s head fell into his lap softly.

They’d been sitting against the wall, shoulders pressing against one another, and had long stopped talking. Tam was hyper-aware of Keefe’s sleepiness and was about to offer the blonde his bed so he could go read in the living room, but Keefe’s head rolled off his shoulder quickly.

He was asleep, Tam could tell, but he was still hesitant to touch him, or move at all. But the blonde tips of his hair fluttered as Keefe let out a soft snore, and Tam couldn’t keep his hands away.

Just running his hands softly through the older boy’s hair gave Tam so much happiness, he was sure he would combust if he could ever actually have him. He shook his head. That’s not a thought he’s supposed to have. It wasn’t happening.

But Keefe falling asleep on him was. So he could enjoy that. 

Tam’s thumb was softly tracing his jaw when Keefe spoke, “We should do this more often you know.”

The younger boy’s thumb froze in its place. It didn’t seem to bother Keefe as he blinked up at him. “Without the crying and everything. Hanging out, just you and me. Like a date.” Tam only blinked in response. It was three A.M., this wasn’t actually happening-

“Or not.” Keefe yawned and closed his eyes again. Tam didn’t touch him the rest of the night.

They didn’t talk about it the next day, just pretended it never happened. Until the next time, a month later.

Sophie had dragged them to some party and Keefe had easily gotten himself some fizzleberry wine (like he always does) so Tam was assigned with the duty of taking him home for the night. He didn’t want to be there anyway.

They may have been right about that, but the reason Tam didn’t want to be there was that he was trying to stop himself from throwing himself at Keefe every five seconds. Sending him home with the boy wasn’t gonna help his case.

But he didn’t voice the thought as Dex deposited the dizzy blonde in his arms and walked away to where Biana was standing. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest as Keefe steadied himself on the younger’s arms, his top exposing his collarbone. The silky maroon shirt had a bit too many buttons undone for Tam to be focused, but he tried to calm down his heart because Keefe could definitely feel it as he rested his head on Tam’s shoulder.

Not that he didn’t look good. He looked amazing. He looked like what Tam had always envisioned at the name Dionysus. Tight black leather pants and matching black boots with small heels, the loose shirt that was somehow revealing at the same time, messed up hair, a smudge of smoky eyeshadow, and slightly sweaty. The slight lust in his eyes completed the look. Dionysus was the god of wine and partying after it all.

Despite the fact that he was definitely too far gone to actually remember much of what happened from this point forward, Tam believed Keefe belonged on a stage. Or at least a painting. No one could hog such a beautiful sight, it was just wrong.

But Tam had the chance. He would take it.

Keefe hummed to himself the whole car ride home, but he didn’t talk nearly as much as he usually did when Tam drove him home. The younger wasn’t sure if that meant he was more or less wasted than previous times.

Thankfully enough, Cassius had been out for the day doing work and wouldn’t be back until two days later, plenty of time for Keefe to nurse a hangover and make up some story for where he’d been. Tam led Keefe into his room, helped him wash up, grabbed an elixir and a bottle of youth while he changed, and offered it to him as he crawled into his bed.

Tam scrolled through his imparter as he sat on the couch, going through the apps Dex had added on for when they were bored. Whoever took Keefe home couldn’t leave till the morning, in case he woke up and did dumb shit. And he always managed to wake up and do dumb shit.

He didn’t notice when Keefe got out of bed, only looking up once the taller boy was standing in front of him clutching Mrs.Stinkbottom looking like a child. Part of Tam missed the maroon silk shirt, but the other part loved Keefe’s pajama and bed head combo so much he just wanted to cuddle him till daybreak. He pushed both those thoughts down.

But before he could ask why he was up, Keefe was beside him, snuggled into his side like a toddler. Tam but his lip because dam, he really thought he could get over him. Not when the blonde kept doing stuff like this he couldn’t.

“You need anything?” Tam asked, desperate to get Keefe off his side, but not really.

“Just you.” 

Tam finally understood why pain and joy went hand in hand. He only understood further when Keefe added. “You could kiss me if you’d like.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to-- _ oh he wanted to _ \--but he convinced himself, no matter how quiet he was on the drive home, Keefe was drunk, he didn’t know what he was saying, and if he did remember it in the morning he would regret it.

So Tam forbade himself from answering and just gave Keefe’s head soft little pats till he fell asleep.

The next time was only a week later, Keefe showed up outside Tam’s bedroom at half-past ten in the morning with flowers and a speech on his tongue about how he did mean it all but he wanted to do it the right way, and abruptly stopped when he noticed Tam’s striped pajamas and an adorable bed head.

“Did I wake you up?” Tam shook his head through a small yawn that made Keefe’s insides coo, raking a hand through his hair. “That’s a lie, I woke you up.”

Tam dropped his hand from his hair and gave a small nod. “It’s alright though, what were you saying?”

“That I’m sorry for-” Tam cut him off quickly.

“I don’t like sorry’s,” he stated firmly. “But I’m free later. Text me?”

Keefe could barely realize how easy that was before he agreed, gave Tam a small pat on the head (he grumbled in response), and headed back home. Tam didn’t realize how blunt he’d been till he woke up again at noon with Linh squealing outside his door. But there weren’t any regrets.

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How many small habits the other had that pushed him to his limit.



four.

Tam had some small habits that Keefe was sure nobody but him (and maybe Linh) noticed. For one, twisting his ring. 

Keefe had gotten him a ring when they were eleven as a little gift. It was nothing special, just a simple silver band with a  _ T  _ engraved on the inside. Tam wore it everyday without fail. And once Keefe had let himself accept that yes, he was in love with Tam, he also let himself pick up on all the small things about Tam without feeling guilty about it, one of those being how often he played with his ring.

He always tried to figure out the pattern behind it, whether the younger did it when he was nervous, or excited, or confused, but Keefe could never really pinpoint it. Tam seemed to fidget with his ring anywhere and everywhere, and it wasn’t attached to a certain emotion or situation like Keefe had thought it would be. Though a certain emotion always rose in the blonde when he saw Tam playing with his ring.

Another was pushing back his hair. Keefe was on the verge of buying the younger a scrunchie for how often he pushed his silver bangs out of his face. Nobody really thought much of it, but Keefe felt like a ticking time bomb every time it happened. He couldn’t focus when Tam was raking a hand through his hair like that. His mind wandered elsewhere.

Keefe genuinely didn’t know why this one affected him the way it did, but the way Tam pushed his reading glasses back was dangerous. Honestly, his glasses as a whole did something to Keefe.

Personally Tam hated them, and only their close friends were aware that he had to wear them to study. Keefe, however, thought they were a blessing from the universe. Thankfully Biana could say they looked good before Keefe did something stupid and admitted his thoughts.

The last, and worst of all, had to be his habit of biting/licking his lips. Whether he noticed it or not, Tam seemed to always have a lip in between his teeth. And it drove Keefe completely insane. How was he expected to function when Tam was doing  _ that _ right next to him?

It was kind of scary, because sometimes it felt like Tam  _ knew _ how insane those little habits could drive him. Keefe came to this conclusion when he was hanging out with Tam, post-prank (which had pissed the smaller boy off a decent amount), doing homework together. He had a project due the next day, and he already procrastinated so that he had to do it all in one day. And Tam was well aware of this.

And it seemed like that knowledge drove him to move his hair more, twist his ring harder, adjust his glasses and bite his lips to the point where he eventually started absentmindedly playing with the frame between his teeth. And once Keefe saw that he had to turn and silently scream into his pillow because there was no way he was finishing that project.

When he turned back, Tam had a small smirk dancing on his mouth, and Keefe had to remind himself that  _ he _ was the empath between the two, and there was no way Tam knew how the blonde felt about him. It wasn’t very assuring when Tam licked his lip again. 

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How many times he _almost_ proposed.



five.

He only admitted it because guilt was dangerous, but otherwise, he wouldn’t have breathed a word about the fact that he had kept the engagement ring in their own shared room for almost a year.

Keefe had bought the ring with the full intention of coming up with some amazing Keefe-tastic plan and going through with it in two weeks. But the plan was never made, and then he had the constant weight of the tiny black box in his bedside drawer on his shoulders.

The first time he almost proposed was when he took Tam to see the northern lights a month after buying the ring. He’d dressed nicely, his long black coat and grey scarf fluttering in the wind. Keefe had the ring in his coat pocket, and Tam could almost tell something was up by the way he was tugging on his navy blue sweater sleeves, but if he did he ignored it.

It would’ve been a perfect time, just the two of them, under the stunning natural lights of the sky. But when Keefe reached into his pocket, he chickened out. Not that he’d ever directly admit it, but suddenly he lost all of his confidence. The ring stayed in his pocket.

The second time was on Tam’s birthday. All their friends had planned a huge party at Everglen just to annoy him, then grabbed his arm laughing and ditched the hundreds of people who’d shown up for the silver-haired boy to go to Tam and Keefe’s lightly decorated apartment. 

Dex had found a human movie projector and set it up on their balcony with some overly sweet rom-com that Tam would  _ never _ admit he enjoyed. But he was a hopeless romantic, no matter how much he’d deny their accusations, and couldn’t ask for more than the cuddle pile they’d all fallen asleep in while watching the movie. 

Keefe had woken up as his boyfriend softly tore himself away from the rest to get water. Following him into the kitchen, he became faintly aware of the box in his pants pocket. He would’ve pulled it out right there, but then he also became aware of his crumpled clothes and messed up hair and decided against it. He wanted his proposal to be picture perfect.

They’d been dancing the third time, twirling around their living room with no actual choreography, just enjoying each other’s company. The past week had left both Tam and Keefe very little time to themselves, and neither had the energy to go out for date night. So with some of Keefe’s magic cooking and a record player, they had their own little night in.

Tam fell onto the sofa laughing after they tripped over each other’s feet for the 50th time and Keefe couldn’t help the lovesick smile spreading over his face. Some things never change, and the effect Tam’s laughter had on the blonde was one of them.

The younger had looked so content and happy, just to be there with him, Keefe almost flipped open the black box and asked Tam to marry him. But the oven beeped, and he waved off the thought as he ran to make sure their food didn’t burn, Tam’s laughter echoing after him.

The fourth had barely been a thought, Tam had been getting ready for work and just looked impossibly good in a simple red button-down shirt. As he cuffed the sleeves, Keefe, who was still in bed, humored the thought of whipping open his bedside drawer and proposing right then, but pushed it away, still hoping for the _ perfect  _ moment.

Keefe’s birthday marked seven months since the day he bought the ring. Tam had woken him with a sweet kiss and breakfast in bed. With work, they didn’t usually get to have lazy mornings like this, and Keefe loved every second of it. He loved every moment he spent with Tam anyway.

“So what do you want for your birthday? Wanna go somewhere?” Tam asked, running a hand through Keefe’s hair. 

He melted slightly into the touch and contemplated pulling a smirk and asking Tam to marry him as a birthday present in the most Keefe way possible. Keefe shook the thought out of his head before asking, “Didn’t the rest have any plans?”

When he finally proposed, it wasn’t the perfect moment. But it was so purely  _ them _ . 

Keefe had sworn to himself after his birthday that if he made it to ten months without proposing he would never forgive himself, but only a couple of weeks later he gave up on finding the perfect time. 

He had been curled up against Tam’s side while he read a book, the latter running a hand through the blonde’s hair. They were in bed, Tam always read before sleeping while Keefe did whatever.

The older sighed contentedly before sitting up and looking at his boyfriend. Tam pushed his reading glasses back and peered back, confused. Keefe didn’t say anything as he turned around and got the box, opening it delicately and placing it on Tam’s lap in front of his book so they could both see it. “What do you think?”

Tam stared at the ring, blinking before asking without tearing away his gaze, “About what?”

Keefe almost laughed, pushing Tam’s arm softly, “Oh come on, don’t make this harder than it has to be for me.”

“What, I genuinely don’t know what’s happening right now,” Tam answered, smiling at him. 

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don-”

“Will you marry me?” Keefe asked, cutting him off.

Tam adjusted his glasses again, making Keefe hold back the urge to kiss his nose. “What’s the magic word?”

He did laugh that time, “Please?”

“Of course I’ll marry you,” Tam answered, smile growing larger. “I love you, stupid.”

Keefe grinned, slipping the ring on his hand. “I love you too.”

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. Which teen he was at when he realized he was hopelessly in love with one of his best friends.



six.

Jealousy was a horrible feeling. It was Keefe’s least favorite emotion, second only to guilt. He found jealousy to be unnecessary, because even when someone has something you want, they see people having something they want too. Jealousy was an endless cycle you get nothing out of, and Keefe hated it.

So when he identified that feeling in his chest as jealousy, it took everything in his to not show his disgust on his face. Luckily none of his friends were also empaths, or else he would have a harder time than he already was.

Keefe only knew one thing at the moment. And that was the fact that he had felt jealous when he saw Jensi talking to Tam. But his friends talked to each other all the time, and they were allowed to have friends too, so that couldn’t be it. Then Keefe realized that the exact moment was when Jensi had slung his arm over Tam’s shoulder.

But knowing that only left him with more questions. For one, why was he jealous of Jensi and Tam? Fitz did that to him all the time. So did Sophie and Biana. Who were currently trying to get his attention. “Keefe? You there?”

The elder waved Biana’s hand out of his face and nodded, “Yes?” He could continue questioning himself later. Or better yet, not at all, and cross his fingers and hope he wouldn’t get jealous again.

But Keefe was sixteen, and hated homework. So as most sixteen-year-olds who hated homework would do, he zoned out instead of focusing on the empathy drills he was supposed to be doing. His mind wandered off, and eventually came back to the one thing he didn’t want to think about. Why he was jealous earlier.

Keefe couldn’t think of any other plausible reason to have been jealous except being protective. It was normal for people to get a little possessive over their friends at times right? It was a very random feeling, but he told himself it wouldn’t happen again. That it was normal.

The next day was a weekend, and Tam had dropped by to bother Keefe for no reason, as he would do any other day. It was normal, Keefe assured himself, that he was noticing the way Tam’s eyes held a little sparkle when they greeted him that wasn’t always there for everyone else to see. It was normal, he assured himself, for him to shiver at the slightly intense feeling when Tam touched his arm. It was normal, he was sure, to accidentally zone out on his best friend’s lips a few times.

Tam didn’t stay the night when he offered, thank god, because Linh had planned some outing for the twins the next day. So Keefe laid in bed alone, calculating thoughts running through his head, until the door creaked.

The blonde sat up when a silver-banged head peaked its way through. “Tammy? I thought you went home hours ago.”

“I did,” Tam admitted, slowly closing the door and climbing into Keefe’s bed to sit across from him. “But then I decided enough was enough.”

Keefe gulped under the younger’s gaze. “Enough of what?”

“This,” Tam sighed. “Pretending.”

“...I’m not following.” Keefe could swear Tam was getting closer.

“Come on Keefe.” He was definitely getting closer. “You know it’s different with us.”

Tam’s face was only inches away from his. He wouldn’t even have to lean forward that much to… “Kiss me.”

Keefe obliged, coming forward quickly to catch Tam’s mouth with his own. It was messy, filled with need and pining Keefe had never noticed before as their teeth clacked together. The older reached his hand up to touch Tam’s hair, pulling him closer-

His eyes snapped open, shooting up in his bed. That wasn’t real. None of that had happened.

But Keefe couldn’t lie to himself anymore. The dream hadn’t been real but the emotions had been. Goddammit, dreaming of kissing his best friend wasn’t normal. None of that was normal. 

Keefe tugged at his hair with a frustrated sigh because  _ shit, _ he was in love with his best friend. And that best friend was Tam Song.

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How many kisses he’d woken up to on the first day he slept over.



seven.

“Keefe.” One on his nose. “Wake.” Right eye. “Up.” Left eye.

Tam tugged on his boyfriend’s shirt collar. Though the blonde was unmoving, his breathing was much too calculated for Tam to be fooled. “I know you’re awake, stupid, I’m not gonna keep kissing you.”

Keefe’s eyes finally blinked open, barely focusing on his boyfriend before pulling him down softly to connect their lips. Tam didn’t pull away, opting to put his knees on either side of Keefe’s and lean down to kiss him better.

“We promised the others we’d hang out with them today.” Tam moved on to kiss his jaw.

“But I like this, waking up with you next to me, and all that domestic stuff. It’s less lonely,” Keefe whined, hands coming up to tug on Tam’s collar.

“I get that, and I like it too, but we promised,” Tam insisted, but his words didn’t match his actions as his lips moved to the shell of Keefe’s ear. He smiled to himself as he heard the blonde’s breath hitching as his hands went to fumble with Tam’s shirt buttons.

“But I don’t want to.” 

Tam swooped down to give him one last kiss before launching himself off the bed, leaving Keefe with his hands suspended in the air where Tam’s shirt had been. He leaned against the bathroom door frame. “Well you don’t really have a choice. Enjoy your cold shower!”

Keefe gaped at him, “You’re not actually going to-”  
The younger flashed him a small smile before disappearing into the bathroom.

The blonde stared at the ceiling. “Shit. I’m in love with the devil.”

“I heard that!”

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How many weeks passed until their first I love you’s.



eight.

Sneaking out of sessions had been much easier before Elwin asked Ro to make sure Keefe actually paid attention in class. Her respect for the physician had gone way up after watching him save Keefe and his friends time and time again, and he seemed to be one of the only people the ogre would listen to. Which wasn’t in Keefe’s favor. 

He could hear Ro’s growling behind him as he turned the corner. She swept past, not noticing. Keefe silently fistpumped, turning around to Tam who was waiting for him, hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

“I made it!” Keefe stated, walking over to his boyfriend.

Tam smiled, “I could tell. You sure you’re not gonna be in trouble after that?”

“Oh I definitely am. I’m sure I won’t be too upset about it though,” Keefe assured.

The taller slid down to join Tam on the floor against the abandoned hall. “I honestly don’t understand why you plan all these things if you know you’re gonna get in trouble later.”

“I mean, what’s the point of doing anything if there’s no risks right? Asking you out was a risk, but now we’re here.” Keefe slid his hand into Tam’s and the younger hated himself for blushing. “And there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Linh would be astonished that Tam's face muscles could actually smile this hard. “Yeah, me too.”

They sat there in comfortable silence, just enjoying the familiarity of each other for a while, unmoving. Then Keefe realized what he had actually proposed beforehand. “The secret cafeteria, shit. I think Ro’s going to be waiting outside there if we go.”

“That’s fine, I’m fine here,” Tam promised. Keefe’s face morphed into an adorable smile and Tam found himself blurting, “I love you.”

Tam was probably more shocked than Keefe was, judging by the elder’s soft smile only grew. “Really?

“Yeah, yeah I guess I do, Tam admitted, praying to the heavens that his ears weren’t turning red.

Keefe nodded, squeezing his hand. “Well I love you too.”

Turning his face to hide his grin, Tam tried to stop his heart from doing flips because Keefe was an  _ empath _ and he could  _ feel that _ , but then Keefe reminded him he’s also corny.

“Want to hear a bad joke?”

“I take it back, I don’t love you anymore.”

“Your _emotions_ don’t agree with that Tammy.”  
“Shut _up_.” 

Tam dropped Keefe’s hand and scooted away out of pettiness. Keefe just pulled him back into his lap and hugged him around the waist. “Well  _ I _ do love you. I always will.”

And maybe Tam didn’t care that Keefe could feel his emotions that time.

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. How old they were when they first met.



nine.

Keefe had been to Atlantis many times. And every time he saw people laughing and smiling with the others around them. He envied that because whenever he went to Atlantis or Mysterium or anywhere really, he was with his parents. He never smiled with his parents.

Of course, he had friends! He’d known Fitz and Biana for as long as he could remember and had clear memories of the younger taking her first steps. Biana made friends with a girl named Sophie Ruewen and her cousin Dex Dizznee a couple of years ago, and since then the five of them had always hung out together at Everglen, playing games and eating Della’s blitzenberry muffins. Sometimes they’d even go to Dex and Sophie’s houses, but never his. His friends understood because even they could notice how he never smiled until his dad leaped away.

People in the cities were different. They were happy and bustling around with errands to run. So it sort of shocked Keefe the first time his mother led him into the eerily quiet shop, white and blue colored walls with racks of records and wind chimes hung everywhere. The name written on the wall read “The Songs”. He could vaguely remember hearing about them before. He never listened much to what his parents said.

His parents weren’t the type to hold his hand throughout shopping trips, they always let him go at the entrance no matter how big the store was. So as his mother walked down the shelves, Keefe’s attention was directed toward a girl standing a couple of feet left of him, looking out the window. She had the same straight black hair and silver-flecked eyes and the same complexion as the paintings on the wall, so he judged she must be family with the owners.

She gave him a wave and a small smile, and he answered with a half-hearted grin which prompted her to walk over to him. She was shorter than him but still looked around the same age. “Why aren’t you smiling?” 

Keefe shrugged, “I guess I don’t really have a reason to smile right now.”

The girl sighed, “You sound like my brother. Look, he’s sitting in the window, being grumpy like always.”

Keefe followed her gaze to the boy who looked pretty much identical to her, besides the shorter hair. 

“He never smiles unless we’re alone. Say’s our parents are a reason not to smile.”

Keefe nodded. “I can understand that.”

He was ushered out of the store by his mother only moments later, barely getting to wave goodbye, much less ask for the girl’s name. It was sad. She looked like someone he’d like to have around. 

But only a week later her father had brought him back to the store to return something. The two kids were there again, and the girl waved eagerly when she recognized him. 

“I’m Linh,” she supplied as she shook his hand, “I didn’t get your name last time. My brother is Tam by the way.”

“Keefe,” he offered. “Your brother still looks grumpy.”

“He always is.” Linh turned to him, “Why? You think you might be able to cheer him up?” 

Reaching into his pocket for the imp prattle pin he’d gotten that morning, Keefe nodded, “Maybe.”

He walked over to where Tam was sitting, staring out the window, and offered him the pin. Tam blinked up at him, “What’s this?”

Keefe stared right back. “A gift.”

Tam took the pin and rolled it over in his hand, “You don’t even know me.”

“That’s alright.”

The blonde could see the confusion in his eyes, but Tam still answered, “Thank you.”

He still didn’t smile, so Keefe made it his mission to make this boy smile. 

His dad pulled him out of the store again, but when they got home he said they’d be going back tomorrow, so Keefe quickly grabbed his colors and made a small drawing to take with him the next day.

He sprinted into the store without his dad, clutching the small picture in his pocket, and went straight to where Tam was sitting, barely waving to Linh as he flew past. He thrust the drawing into Tam’s hand proudly, but apparently, Tam was in an even worse mood that day. “What do you wa-”

“You never smile,” Keefe shot back. “I want you to smile.”

Tam looked stunned. “Why do you care?” 

“I never smile around my family either. But I do smile around my friends. You look like you’ve never smiled in your life. Everyone deserves to smile.”

The black-haired boy looked down at his hands, holding the small drawing of a beach. “Do you think you’re some superhero or something?”

Keefe frowned slightly, “My parents say superheroes don’t exist.”

Tam looked up at him, “Mine do too.”

“Then I’ll be your superhero.” Tam looked at him warily. “I’ll make sure you smile each and every day, as long as you’ll be mine.”

For a while, Tam just stared at him, and Keefe stared back. Then he nodded, “I’ll be your superhero too.”

Something inside Keefe clicked at the words and his heart exploded with happiness and a sense of accomplishment, because wow, he finally made the pretty boy smile.

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•


  1. The number on the clock when he finally realized the other truly wasn’t leaving.



ten.

Gifts had become a sort of thing between them. Every time they saw each other, alone or with friends, they’d give each other something. A prattle pin, a small note, a drawing, a simple hug. They didn’t make a huge deal out of it, pressing the small trinkets into each other’s hands and pockets as they walked past each other in the hallways with small smiles, but they always meant something. And they never stopped.

They were thirteen when Tam and Linh ran away. Keefe heard in the worst way, from his father  _ agreeing _ over the imparter that the Songs’ children were a waste of time if they would act like this and refuse to pretend not to be twins. Keefe hadn’t said a word before leaping over to their spot.

Somehow Keefe knew they’d be there because for years, every time Tam or Keefe needed to get away they’d come there. They never really knew how they got there, one time Keefe had shouted the wrong word at his dad’s pathfinder and ended up with Tam on the grassy cliffside over the ocean. It was called “Griffin Rock”, they discovered.

It wasn’t like their other friends didn’t know about the place, they had shown it to them not long after. But Tam and Keefe went there the most often.

And so Keefe was right when he guessed the twin’s location because there they were arguing, and Keefe could barely hear it over the strong wind.

“We can’t go to Exillium Tam, it's horrible there,” Linh was saying.

“And what other choice do we have?” Tam shot back.

Keefe clicked his tongue behind them, “So many other choices.” Tam and Linh whipped around to look at him. “Some of them are good ones too.”

Linh seemed more relieved than ever to see him there. She and Keefe always had a special type of bond where they could know what the other was saying without having to say it, so he could tell immediately that she wanted him to talk to Tam. 

He nodded slightly as she walked away, coming closer to Tam and examining his newly silver bangs. “What did you do to your hair?”

Tam barely met his eyes, “Registry Pendant.”

Keefe chuckled as he ran his fingers over them, “You look so stupid.”

“Shut up.” Even now, it was playful, and as Tam softly pushed him away Keefe just wrapped his arms around the younger’s neck. Tam leaned into the hug, wrapping his arms around Keefe’s waist. He wasn’t sure how long they stood like that before Keefe became faintly aware of the tears dripping onto his cloak. 

Keefe pulled back just a little bit to wipe the tears from Tam’s cheeks. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We can go to Everglen, I’m sure Alden knows someone who can help you guys out.”

Tam nodded but the tears only slowed a bit. Keefe just kept hugging him, he knew the boy hated crying in front of Linh, and he would never cry in front of anyone else. “I’ll be your superhero, remember? I’ll keep you safe,” Keefe reassured him. Tam nodded.

Keefe didn’t know what else to do, and he wasn’t sure if it was going to help but he didn’t think too much before pressing a soft kiss onto the younger boy’s forehead. Tam blinked up at him, so much like when they were little, pleasantly confused. “What was that for?” The blonde shrugged. 

“Think of it as a gift.”

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•



“...ten. See? You’re fine, we’re fine,” Keefe consoled, stroking his husband’s hair. 

Tam didn’t answer, just tilted his head up and tugged Keefe’s collar down till their lips connected. 

  * ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•



infinity.  _ How many days and nights I’ll spend loving you at my side. _

**Author's Note:**

> brought to you by ur friendly procrastinator~


End file.
